Results Support Plan to Submit V503 for Regulatory Approval by Year's End

An experimental Merck & Co. vaccine appeared to offer broader protection against a cancer-causing virus than the company's Gardasil shot in clinical trials.

Merck said the study results support its plan to submit the new vaccine, code-named V503, for U.S. regulatory approval by year-end, which could lead to market launch next year at the soonest. Merck expects health-care providers to eventually switch to V503 if the product...